The building is a true wonder. It's like being in a big greenhouse sorta on the inside. The effect you get with the green glass and the aluminum cheesegrater mesh in the windows makes the outside really surreal. Plus, it has the best lighting possible - sunlight! Except when it is dark/raining, but I've not been in there at night yet.

Just being in there makes you want to do something creative, or atleast just sit around and have a nice think. Hopefully they will upgrade to the new iMacs when they come out, but I have a feeling they won't as the building has only been open for 1 semester.

Oh yeah, I don't know if I mentioned this, but it is in Baltimore, so if you know anything about Baltimore you know how much it stands out from the lower income places and the neo-Classical architecture throughout the city.

michaelrjohnson
Excellent... any pictures of the *inside* of the building, or is that boring?

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The first three pictures are of the inside, there are also 2 more showing the interior. It is definatly not boring inside, it is very modern/industrial looking. The floors are concrete slabs that have very little finishing done to them, you can see the heating pipes running up the side of the stairwell. The stairwell is exposed concrete as well, wrapping around itself all the way up 4 flights of stairs while the glass walls converge in. The doorways in some of the halls are made of glass and the hallways have a weird feel on the exterior sides because of the sloping glass.

The technology in there is neat too. They have a recording studio and some video editing suites as well as classrooms (duh). There is an interactive animation thingy as well, where you can hook something up to these arms and walk around and then it animates it on the screen - really cool stuff. Um, there is other stuff too I just can't remember it...

They have a recording studio and some video editing suites as well as classrooms (duh). There is an interactive animation thingy as well, where you can hook something up to these arms and walk around and then it animates it on the screen - really cool stuff. Um, there is other stuff too I just can't remember it...

ChipNoVac - honestly, I really like DC! True, the architecture is a bit bland and well, official looking (gee, I wonder why... ). I got accepted to Corcoran as well, and I really love the city however cost of living is so much more that it was more pricy than MICA. Plus, there is that cowboy living down the street...

michaelrjohnson - as far as the classrooms go, well...they are class rooms, heh. They have the same flooring, the walls are also concrete (as you might expect). There are two long tables along each wall running about the length of the class room. Or maybe they are all seperate desks, I really haven't taken an extended look at them or spent any time in them, just seen. There are probably 25 computers in each room, either iMacs or Dell Workstations. There is a projector and a teacher station in the front with the screen on the far back wall, as is typical with classrooms. So yes, kinda bland, but then again...who wants to design with a lot of eyecandy in the room? It is my understanding and experience that having a clean look to a room with no distractions on the walls is easier to work in, less brain clutter. The graduate studios have desks with setups for dual monitors, and possibly even dual computers which is kinda neat. Other than that, pretty standard, I don't believe they reinvented teh classroom or anything.

Hey, that's neat we're both MICA kids. Or, will be. I am a transfer student, I'm not really freshman or sophomore right now AFAIK. Looks like I definatly won't be the only Mac Geek around . The building is definatly amazing, nothing like being there in person. You can IM me @ insidealetterbox at mac . com if you'd like.

Oh yeah, I don't know if I mentioned this, but it is in Baltimore, so if you know anything about Baltimore you know how much it stands out from the lower income places and the neo-Classical architecture throughout the city.

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Funky! But I can't place where in Baltimore it is....you'd think I'd remember such a distinctive building. Not in the downtown area, surely?

After giving the pictures a second viewing, the one thing I don't like about buildings like this is that while it doesn't look like a cold building from the outside, it could certainly blend with its environment a bit better by simply adding more trees around the building. Same with the interior. With all that sunlight, and a lot more trees, it wouldn't feel so cold and lifeless. Yes, its a nice building.....very well designed, but more plant life is needed, especially around the exterior.

Funky! But I can't place where in Baltimore it is....you'd think I'd remember such a distinctive building. Not in the downtown area, surely?

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If you go up Howard Street past where it connects with MLK you will see it up high just before you go under the bridge. It is located on Mount Royale, a few blocks south of North Street and 3 or 4 blocks east of Charles @ Mt. Royale.

There is definatly a non-organic feeling to the building. Interestingly enough, contrary to the "cold and lifeless" statement, the building is actually rather warm inside, but yes there is a lack of plant life. I think that might be part of the design, but yes it never hurts to have some more trees around, and it does clash with the surroundings. The classrooms across the street are in an old italian styled marble building and the one next to it is brick.

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